Petit Couture Blog

with the migration to wordpress, we took the opportunity to showcase our petit couture brand online as well. noree and i worked tirelessly with our designer two months ago to create an image that would embody the petit couture brand. and, we wanted a logo that we would LOVE to look at ALL OF THE TIME. we love our owl and the play on the cezanne font with some clasic organic elements added in to suggest whimsy (e.g. leaf). we’re finding, as we’re in our final phases of technical production for tags, hangtags, etc. that it works well too – which was the plan, but always exciting to see that you did it right! we worked with our designer, Ian Webster, to ensure that our logo was something that we could invest in over time and work well technically (e.g. online, offline, etc.). We love it and hope you do as well. We would love your thoughts and feedback. As always…

you might have noticed if you check in on us that we’ve migrated all our blog to wordpress. apologies for the wonky treatement of all the previous posts, i haven’t been able to figure out how to backdate. we’ve also lost our comments. i apologize for that too. moving forward wordpress is much easier to manage, and much more flexible. i also pulled out the FTP whodat and upgraded to the newest version of wordpress and installed K2. success.

working toward having letterpress cards and hang tags. will be divine!! meeting on the 10th with screenprinting shop and cannot wait to see our initial samples. it is coming together…..i have to figure out some of our tax items though. pdx may be a better option for us ultimately. wa not as supportive for small/small business. more on that later. also, i’ll be posting our logo in the next day/two. we’ve been holding off, but now want to unveil it. it is ours and we’re more than proud of it. love it. will look to your feedback as well. xo for now.

so, when you’re starting a business every day counts. it counts, too, when you’re working for other people, but the dent in not ‘being there’ isn’t felt nearly as much as it is when you miss a few days of life. for the past week we’ve been dealing with the flu. i may now be an advocate for the flu shot, but it’s funny how you forget pain and so it is unlikely that even after this week that i’ll ever get a shot. sofie and simone are back on the mend and julien (knock on wood) is healthy. even in the midst of copious amounts of sucrets, tissues, tea and lack of food some petit couture progress was made.

great meeting in portland last week with a wonderful screen printing and finishing supplier called osi. highly recommended by friends at sandstrom design. prices and specialty is right for us so now we just need to finalize all of our costs. we have also found the letterpress printer of our dreams for our business cards, stationary and potentially hang tags. all of this little stuff does impact our brand work and the aestetic of the brand and garments overall so they’re super critical for us to get ‘just right’ and provide a nice beautiful foundation for petit couture. i also found a wonderful supplier of the perfect washable silk ribbon which we’ll use for embellishment and couldn’t be happier about it. and, lastly by happenstance…found a supplier of silk flowers (could be used for hats, etc.) made by a group of women in africa which provides them with some form of financial sustainability. it couldn’t make me happier to be able to support business that can provide some sort of foundation for othes while at the same time allowing petit couture to have that whimsical aestetic we’re going for.

progress…it is coming along. through this process, now four months in, i’m discovering that starting a business is more about the journey of crafting your vision. shaping the destiny of your own product. i find it inspiring albeit frustrating for me personally when sick days intervene and take me out of life for a week, but perhaps the down time (and many hours of cartoons with sofie and simone) helps remind me why i wanted to start petit couture in the first place. i wanted more time with my family. i wanted something to showcase my perspective. i wanted something to be proud of. i wanted something my daughters, now son, would love one day. and, i wanted to be able to buy any pair of jimmy choos i want…anytime. that’s a while off, but a goal nonetheless.

It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to post. Between my day and night job of holding down life with 3 little people and attending to the never ending details of home selling (yes, trying to sell my home and relocate….great timing during the great depression of 08/09 and potentially 10!!!), volunteering at school (do-gooder tendency sneaks in from time to time) and Trader Joes/Costco trips thrown in just for fun…oh ya and the mundane task of oil changes at the dealership (with a wriggly, screaming 5 month old)…..it’s been a while since I’ve been able to write. The above caveat said, we have made progress with petit couture. Our logo is complete and man is it beautiful. We’re not going to unveil it yet as the brand has to fully come together, but we’re thrilled with it. I’ve always been an advocate for great visuals and am a SUCKER for a pretty box, bag, ribbon, card, etc. and will pay handsomely for it too, but I feel personally very proud for the concept that petit couture is emerging to be. The image we’ve designed embodies the ‘elegant whimsy’ we’re aiming to achieve. So, thanks Ian for your work at midnight eastern. We couldn’t have found a better design partner. We’ve also aligned some of our wholesale partnerships and am pulling samples now. It is an amazingly complex world…manufacturing and am finding some great resources and potential. Some of our first sample ‘blanks’ have arrived and really look forward to seeing more. And, we met with a printer today to discuss the staples like business cards and letterhead. Nuts and bolts and great to see some progress! More soon……

Last week Noree and I met with our design and illustration guru, Ian (perfect name for a design guy btw), who is helping us craft our brand vision behind petit couture. Our brand will set us apart and be a major part of the product itself which is why we’re focusing on it as one of our first core efforts. Its also one of the most expensive investments from a cost and time investment perspective so we are choosing to hop on it quickly . Our first ‘see the creative’ meeting was really promising and cannot wait for the next round which will incorporate our logo type as well as color palette. The feeling we want to evoke for petit couture is one of whimsy, elegance and fun primarily with a complete and total eye for sustainability and consciousness. Think glamorous granola for the toddler/infant set (and no, you’ll never see that written anywhere but here). Obviously, we’re starting small…so small….so so small…..but we have big design ideas for the future. Our initial line will be basics for layette primarily. Stay Tuned…..

Since my last post, much has happened. We have all of our licenses secured and have found a design resource who will no doubt help us visualize the petit couture brand in a meaningful way. we’re anxious to say the least to see progress . we’ve also set up some of our wholesale relationships, but have many more to establish. i’m learning as i go that tapping into a new industry (for me) isn’t daunting if you take time and surround yourself with individuals who can provide some good, objective insight into the business process. i’ve had some great conversations with retailers as well as designer/business people and they all stress the importance of taking time to craft the ‘right’ product as well as ensuring that the ‘business’ of the business is well defined and managed. noree and i have also been working on our first designs – all very exciting. luckily we share very similar approach to what we like and know will ‘work’. but, we have so much to do!! in the next few weeks we should have samples created and then ready for some ‘testing’. we’re in the process of establishing an advisory board (friends/family) who will be ready and willing to share critical, and supportive, feedback on our first products. more on that later!

So, things are going to take a while. I know this. I’m a do-er though and an impatient one. Friends will agree heartily to this. I’m really fortunate that I have met a partner who will support this venture AND have met a business partner with the same creative spirit and energy (type A) that I have. This combo will help Petit Couture be a reality. And, I’m thrilled about that. I’m also……really nervous. I have limited background and no idea what I’m doing. Super exciting, super intimidating. We’re in the early phases….I’m presenting working on the operational items like….banking, lining up all of our key contacts (accountants, attorneys, etc.), business licenses, where to incorporate, sourcing contacts, brand identity and the like. Its fun. I think this will be something.